Shio Sakaki
Shio Sakaki (逆鬼 至緒? Sakaki Shio) is infamously known as the 100-Dan Street Brawler of Karate and is one of the masters of Ryozanpaku Appearance Sakaki is a tall and well-muscled man who is almost always seen wearing a leather jacket and has a long scar that runs horizontally across the bridge of his nose. He also wears bandages wrapped around his forearms. Personality Sakaki is arrogant, violent, and a drunkard, but is quite possibly the most normal of the masters at Ryozanpaku. Sakaki is a very intimidating person even when he tries not to be, something that he doesn't seem to realize and is put off by whenever someone points it out. This persona belies a kind and somewhat caring nature which he tries (and fails miserably) to hide, though he is somewhat hot-blooded and short-tempered. To this end, he could be seen as a bad liar, pointed out by Kenichi at one point when Sakaki tells him to lie about the money he received from the underground fighting tournament. Amusingly, it is shown that he suffers from stage fright and becomes extremely flustered at being the center of attention, such as when he was posing as Miu's father during a parent-teacher interview and when he was forced to train little children. At first he was strongly against taking a disciple but eventually warms up to Kenichi and shows much more concern for him than the others, being one of the few to be willing to help out Kenichi when he is in danger despite Ryozanpaku's rule that prohibits a master from involving themselves in their disciples battles. He also gambles and drinks frequently and often places bets on Kenichi. It is shown during Boris's invasion of Ryozanpaku that when Kenichi is not around, his mood becomes worse and that he hates being bothered. He tends to get embarrassed by trivial things such as when Kenichi calls him sensei (even though it was Sakaki who told him to address him as such). His laughing is considered to be life-threatening by Kenichi, who imitated Sakaki during the second battle with Ryuto. Apachai noticed that their laughs are almost the same, to which an embarassed Sakaki tried to deny. He, like the other masters, can be quite childish at times and tends to get into trivial arguments with others (especially Apachai). Like the other masters, Sakaki is devoted to the Katsujinken, despite having been raised by a Satsujinken master. Most of this is due to his personal doubt of the Satsujinken, which persisted throughout his teenage life and reached a new high when he was provoked by Suzuki's death at Hongo's hand. Plot History In his younger days, Sakaki was the disciple of a Sei-type master of karate. Sakaki's only known relativate was an older sister who would constantly look after him. While he took his training seriously in various styles of karate, including his master's Muntenkendou-style, Sakaki's relation with his master was strained. His master was a member of Yami and was teaching Sakaki the "true styles of karate" so Sakaki could succeed him in joining Yami but Sakaki was against killing. He has also apparently fought frequently in the Underground Martial Arts competitions in his past and was quite infamous as the mere mention of his name was enough to send everyone into a fear frenzy. For unknown reasons Sakaki was exiled from the Karate world years before the start of the series. Yet by that time he was already well known for his unparalled combat strength and as The Brawling 100 Dan Karate Master. Sakaki also used to travel the world to fight strong opponents and work as a hired guard. He eventually joined a small group consisting of himself, a Frenchman named Christopher Eclair, and an Englishman named Mycroft. The three of them did a wide variety of jobs which included work for the FBI and guarding important people. However Sakaki's dissapproval of killing eventually caused Christopher and Mycroft to turn on him but were subsequently defeated and buried alive in a desert. Also at some point in his life, he met Akira Hongō and the two became good friends and strong rivals, constantly have matches against him and stopping thugs together. During Sakaki's late teens, he met Suzuki Hajime, who asked to be his disciple despite only being a few years younger. Naturally owing to his dislike for taking on disciples, he refused, but was still followed by Suzuki. When finding Hongō attacked by thugs, Suzuki showed noticeable skill by saving Hongō from bullets. Sakaki and Hongō quickly grew to respect Suzuki and ultimately become friends. Suzuki would constantly referree their matches, leading Sakaki and Hongō to have a tie score of 125 wins each. Later, Sakaki's past caught up with him as he was summoned by Yami to test him as a new member, something that Sakaki felt obligated to due as a last request from his late master. Sakaki was then surprised to find Hongō and Suzuki were also summoned. While Sakaki refused to have a death match with his friends to determine Yami's new member, Suzuki without hesitation accepted the terms in his desire to become recognized as the greatest in karate. He attacked Sakaki and Hongō, quickly pushing them on the defense. Ultimately, he was struck down mercilessly by Hongō. While Hongō insisted he did it to honor Suzuki's greatest wish, Sakaki was enraged by Hongō's actions as Suzuki could have lived a long and fullfilling life if he hadn't reckessly pushed himself with his weak health. Voicing to Yami that he has chosen the path of Katsujin-ken, Sakaki attacked Hongō with the desire to make Hongō see the corrupt views of Yami. As their fight intensified, they each used their signature move and left a scar on the other's face. In the ned, Hongō managed to win under the belief that Sakaki died. It is unknown when he came to Ryozanpaku but it is known that he is one of the junior members along with Apachai and Shigure. Ragnarok Saga When Kenichi arrived at Ryozanpaku dojo, he wanted to learn Karate, but Sasaki turned him down believing that Kenichi will die from his training in three days. After Kenichi’s loss against Saijo Tsukuba, Sakaki decided to train Kenichi for his rematch (which Kenichi won with Yamatsuki and Akisame’s overhead throw). When a master from the Kyuukai Dojo showed up to challenge Sakaki who’s absent at that time, Kenichi went to fight him so Miu doesn’t have to. Kenichi managed to land a blow on the master, and then Sasaki showed up to finish him off then defeated his students. When Sakaki and Akisame wanted to find Kenichi when the latter ran away from the extra harsh training to apologize for their harshness. As soon as they found him, Kenichi was fighting Hermit to save Honoka. Sakaki made a bet with Akisame for the loser’s dessert (Sakaki bet that Kenichi would beat Hermit while Akisame bet vice versa). Kenichi defeated Hermit, though Hermit lost a lot of blood after stabbing himself with Number 20’s knife to save Honoka. YOMI Saga After Isshinsai Ogata declared war against Ryozanpaku, Sasaki took Kenichi with him on a mission to protect Gauche Wynne from his Christopher Éclair. Kenichi was kidnapped by Éclair after Sakaki punched Éclair through the train. Sakaki took Gauche with him and called Miu to come to the hotel Éclair was staying in to rescue Kenichi, since the former taught Kenichi was worth more than 100 of the latter’s lives. Éclair managed to knock Sakaki out of a window, but that left the former opened for Kenichi to hurt him. With enough time, Sakaki returned and finished off Éclair only for the latter to escape when the police took him to the hospital. At the DofD tournament, Sakaki reunited with Jenny Grey to help her rescue some American soldiers captured by Fortuna. During the finals, Sakaki was taking down Fortuna’s soldiers with Jenny Grey and the rest of the Shinpaku Alliance. He knocked out the soldier that killed Shou Kano, when he almost shot Kenichi or Miu. When Ryozanpaku was set up by Yami by framing them as terrorists, they all flee from the dojo. But Sakaki watched for Kenichi and the Shinpaku Alliance when they had to protect the inspector (who was trying to help clear Ryozanpaku’s name) from Yami weapon members. Ishida was about to kill the Shinpaku Alliance, but Sakaki appeared and defeated him then congratulated the Shinpaku Alliance on their skills against the weapon soldiers. Sakaki and Hongo began their battle with Kenichi, Miu, and Silcardo (from far away) watching. The battle was so intense, that Kenichi and Miu had to dodge while watching. Eventually, Sakaki and Hongo kept fighting while unconscious until Silcardo interrupted the battle by having Hongo knock Kenichi out by Silcardo surrounding Kenichi with the former's killing intent. Silcardo then knocked out and kidnapped Miu to make her his student after seeing her special abilities. The two karate masters and Hayato (holding an unconcious Kenichi) tried to rescue Miu, but failed. Hongo told Sakaki that would make Silcardo pay for interrupting the death match. Sakaki claimed their last battle was unfinfished and declared it a draw. Relationships Kenichi While at first Sakaki does not want to take Kenichi as a disciple, this changes after the latter's fight against Tsukuba. After unwittingly scaring Kenichi by asking what his opponent stance was like and overreacting when he was told, Sakaki teaches Kenichi the Yamatzuki. Later, he is seen teaching Kenichi a way to defend and attack at the same time with his wrist, an effective tactic while fighting against many opponents. During this time, he has taught his disciple many things, from how to defend himself against an opponent wielding a sword ( or any bladed weapon) to giving advice on girls. At the same time, he tries to be a tough teacher to Kenichi. He has to constantly battle his instincts, which means beat anything that so much looks at his disciple funny, sharing this attitude with Apachai, like when he had to be stopped by Ma Kensei from trying to fight Boris Ivanov after he attacked Kenichi without any warning. Jenny Grey Sakaki sees Jenny as a close friend, though Jenny clearly and adamantly sees Sakaki as her fiance. This is due to a time when she was a child and a drunk Sakaki accidentally proposed marriage to her when she gave him a bottle of alcohol. Nee-chan This is what Sakaki calls his sister. There is no real information on her at this time due to the fact that he really doesn't talk about his sister save for one mention where he comments that older sister's are scary after seeing Rachel comically beat on Ethan. Also that the only time he talks about her is in the flash back they have of him when he and Akira Hongo were younger and Suzuki Hajime Screen Shot 2011-09-09 at 10.18.16 AM.png Screen Shot 2011-09-09 at 6.42.54 AM.png Skills and Abilities Sakaki has consistently demonstronstrated throughout the series to be a highly powerful fighter. He is so well-versed in several styles of Karate and their respective techniques that he can easily fight in seemingly any battle situation, having shown great proficiency in various punches, jabs, chops, counters and kicks. Sakaki has used his knowledge to train Kenichi to become better adjusted the various battle situations he can face. While Dou-Type with great destructive force, Sakaki has shown repeatedly in battle to easily maintain his composure in any situation and can carefully observe his opponent's attack patterns similar to a Sei-Type. Even against other master-class opponents, he has been able to defeat his opponent without much effort. When fighting full-out, he has repeatedly been held back by his companions as he quickly overwhelms them to the point they could die. The best example of his overall prowess was shown from his brief struggles with Sehrul Rahman and Silcardo Jenazad, both members of Yami's One Shadow Nine Fists, the latter of whom was able to give Hayato Furinji a tough fight. As a result of the brief fight, Silcardo was so impressed with Sakaki's skill that he actively seeks a battle to the death with him. Highly Perceptive Combatant: '''While usually coming off as dense, Sakaki has repeatedly shown himself to be very insightful and knowledgeable in battle. His advanced skill and knowledge in multiple forms of Karate can determine the basic nature of a person's Karate-style from a simple explanation of their stance. In battle himself, he can quickly determine the opponent's battle tactics and instinctively use an appropriate counter method. In his travels around the world, Shio has also become fluent in the basics of various languages. '''Immense Strength: '''Befitting his large and well-defined build, Sakaki possesses raw strength that at times borders on inhuman. With just a simple finger-flick, he can easily launch Kenichi across the room during training. His punches are able to easily plow through solid surfaces or launch a man almost twice his size a considerable distance. With a single hand he can nonchalantly move large and heavy objects out of the way. He can also jump considerable distances, regularly jumping from rooftop to rooftop to get to a destination. In his youth he stopped and lifted an entire car. '''Immense Speed: Despite his size, he has been noted to be deceptively fast and agile, able to dodge and maneuver against close-range attacks with surprising balance and efficiency. He is also able to easily outrun speeding vehicles. His strikes in battle are also shown to be fast and relentless, able to launch a large barrage in an instant, leaving little time for his opponent to counter. He has such speed than sometimes when battling normal people can't keep up even when they are used to Master level battles and have seen them before, and are only able to actually see what is going on by using the Inner eye. Despite being used to the speed and movements of a master even Miu lost the ability to see Sakaki and Hongo's fight clearly due to the immense speed in which they battled. Immense Durability: 'Sakaki has conditioned himself to the point that he can endure blunt force trauma that would render most people unconscious or crippled with only minor damage, most evident from the fact that he can survive a fall from one of the top floors of a tall building without any noticeable injury. So far, the only injuries he has received to visibly draw blood has small to medium scratches on his arm and torso from the hands of a skilled weapon-user. Even then, he was able to continue carrying himself and fighting seemingly unaffected. His tough conditioning has also been made of use regularly at home, as he would use his hands for various chores like punching down nails. It has reached the point that he insisted not to be used as a tool. He is also remarkably resilient mentally as well. During the fight against Sehrul, he states that Shigure's sleeptalk is much scarier than the technique of Sehrul which could knock-out several people. This is why it didn't affect him and it might be implied that Shigure's sleeptalk is one of the only things the fearless master is scared of. '''Immense Ki: '''Even when not attempting to appear as such, Sakaki naturally gives off a highly intimidating aura when just slightly worked up. His ki has been shown strong enough to completely disintergrate the shirt and jacket he was wearing. With a single glare, he can knock a full-grown man off his feet and out-cold. Even when battle-worn and injured, his ki has been shown very strong and large, as Miu sensed it from far away and still considered it stronger than any other she ever sensed by far. His Ki is powerful enough that it matches Hongo's when fully released and to such an extent that it creates a destructive force as a result of the clash between Ki, Even people with a relatively strong heart can't handle it and must flee the area. During his battle with Hongo both Kenichi and Miu said their released Ki was like nothing they have felt before. Techniques: 'Crane's Neck Blow: 'A technique in which the user blocks the opponent's attack downwards and counter with a crane's neck blow to the chin using the same blocking hand. This technique is used for fighting many opponents at the same time. 'Meotoude: 'A technique where you move both your hands without separating them. In order to use it the user uses the front hand to defend and attack and the second hand can also be used to attack and defend as well. 'Motionless Sand Cloud Bomb: 'A punch that sends out a powerful shockwave that can burst open a punching bag while not moving it one millimetre. A "Finishing move". According to Shio, it is a technique that is extolled as the most feared and forbidden in Karate. It is finally used in actual combat to defeat the Spear of the Core. ohsdk_332_s1.jpg ImagesCAJJMP7K.jpg|Being used against Spear of the Core [[Yamazuki|'Yamazuki]]: A powerful double strike. One punch is thrown at the opponents face, causing them to instinctively defend themselves, while a second punch is thrown at their stomach which is left defenseless. Shirahaorimi-Kadzukigeri: Upon catching an enemies blade with both hands he uses a clapping motion to land a powerful blow against them while at the same time destroying their weapon. Shiraha Nagashi: 'It is a specialised technique used to defend against bladed weapons. He blocks the blade by twisting his fist inward and blocking the side of the blade then immediately contracts his muscles and untwists his arm, allowing him to block the blade and punch the enemy at the same time. His skill with this is honed to the point where he could use it without turning around and against other weapons as well. Sakaki later teaches this move to Kenichi. 'Tenchi Jouge (Heaven Earth Upside Down): Also called the Stance Of Overpowering Annihlation, it is a highly offensive stance. This was Sakaki's signature stance before he took on Hajime's suggestion to switch to the Maeba stance. Naizouage: This is a breathing technique in Karate that raises the user's organs to the rib cage, protecting them from enemy hits. Musou Gamae: 'In English, it means The Matchless Stance. Used against a Yami Weapon User, this stance is characterized for a lot of openings. However, using the Naizouage, Shio raises all of his organs, making any hits to his belly unable to cause him life-threatening harm. 'Gamaku (Waist Turn): An ancient Karate technique separates the upper and lower body and makes the user pretends to stand on one leg, but actually stands on the other leg. The opponent is fooled by the stance and defends for the wrong leg. Maeba no Kamae (Front Of The Wing): A traditional Karate technique, it is an iron defense that concentrates in the users hands to cross guard the opponents attacks. It is a defensive stance of absolute defense. Despite being a Dou fighter with a highly aggresive fighting nature this is Sakaki's siguature battle stance, taken on through Hajime's suggestions. Jinenken: Nejiri Nukite: An attack that comes in the form of rapid exchange of knife hands. It is strong enough to pierce through metal. Kuuchuu Sankaku Tobi (Mid Air Three Angles Leap): Sakaki leaps in the air and appears to change the direction of his jump three times, similar in principle to a double jump. Fudou Sajinbaku Doumawashi Juuji Geri (Waist Rotation cross kick)『Chinese：胴回十字蹴』: Sakaki turns in a cartwheel-like motion and kicks downward. Right after this downward kick is completed, he turns vertically and executes a horizontal kick. Shinchi sekantsuki (Piercing Thrust of True Earth) Metsujou Raigou Nukite (Destruction palm's lighting nukite) Morote Seiken Hasami Geri (Double Hand rise Inseried Kick) Morote Enpi Tobi Hizageri (Double hands'elbow, Flying Knee) Battle log Battles past vs Christopher Eclair and Mycroft (won) vs Akira Hongo (125 won, 126 lost) Battles present vs Gonzui Kumatori (won) vs Christopher Eclair round 1 (undecided) vs Christopher Eclair round 2 (won) vs Weapon users on DofD tournament. (won) vs Sehrul Rahman (undecided) vs 8th dan kenjutsu instructor (won) vs Yami Axe-user (interrupted) vs Mikumo Kushinada (undecided) vs Spear of the core (won) vs Ishida (won) vs Akira Hongo (draw) with Akira Hongo vs Silcardo Jenazad (undecided) Trivia *Shio Sakaki holds a resemblance to Kenshiro from Fist of the North Star *During the DofD tournament, Sakaki shrugs off much of Niijima's complaints of the Shinpaku Alliance's members suffering injuries, stating that he was shot by his enemies and told that he wouldn't be able to live. However, he was still able to enter a Karate tournament and win first place. This is an exaggerated parallel situation to one presented in The Karate Kid. Category:History's Strongest Disciple Kenichi character Category:Ryōzanpaku Category:Master Category:Katsujinken